Housing Intentions in Ontario Lead Overall Gains in Residential Sector for January 2024

April 8, 2024

Month over month, the total value of building permits in Canada rose 13.5% in January to $10.8 billion, rebounding after a decrease of 11.5% in December. The residential sector increased 12.6% to $6.5 billion in January, while the non-residential sector grew 14.8% to $4.2 billion.

On a constant dollar basis (2017=100), the total value of building permits was up 14.0% to $6.7 billion in January.

Housing intentions in Ontario lead overall gains in residential sector

The total monthly value of residential permits increased 12.6% to $6.5 billion in January, following a weak December.

Gains in the residential sector in January were led by a strong rebound in multi-unit construction intentions (+35.1% to $4.0 billion), and Ontario (+29.1% to $1.4 billion) led this increase. Specifically, multi-unit permits were concentrated in the census metropolitan areas of Toronto, Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo and London. Quebec (+61.6%; +$244.7 million) and British Columbia (+36.7%; +$281.9 million) also posted notable gains in multi-unit permit values.

The overall residential growth in January was tempered by a decline in the total value of single-family dwelling permits (-10.3% to $2.6 billion), with declines occurring in nine provinces.

Across Canada, 15,200 new dwellings in multi-unit buildings and 4,000 new single-family dwellings were authorized in January.

Commercial projects in Quebec spark non-residential growth

The total monthly value of non-residential permits increased 14.8% to $4.2 billion in January, following a 4.0% decline in December.

The growth was attributed to the commercial component, which increased 34.5% to $2.3 billion, the highest monthly level recorded since April 2023. A $200 million permit for a new data centre in Lévis, Quebec, greatly contributed to the growth observed in January 2024.

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